Monday, March 30, 2009

Marble Cake Supreme with Lemon Cream Icing

I was out thrifting with Sweetie-Pi and I spied a charming little pamphlet called "10 Cakes Husbands Like Best from Spry's Recipe Round-Up!" How could I resist that? I couldn't! There's no copyright or publishing information in the booklet, but the pictures are all in black and white and "Aunt Jenny," looks like Donna Reed or the original Betty Crocker, so I suspect it was published 40's to the 50's sometime.

I haven't had a marble cake since I don't know when, and it's been even longer than that since I've baked one. I don't know why; it's one of my favorite cakes, but typically we just go for the single flavor cake. With this booklet in hand as inspiration, I decided to make Marble Cake Supreme first.

I'm going to give you the directions as they were written, and then I'll follow with my thoughts.

Read through the directions first, as the ingredients are added and mixed at different times, with the eggs being added in two separate additions.

My thoughts: This cake was dry and crumbly. I think it's because the recipe says to cook at 375F and most of our recipes today say 350F. Secondly, the cooking time is way off. Recipe says 60-70 minutes. My cake was overdone at 45 minutes (which could account for some of the dryness, I suspect).

The spices in the chocolate were unusual; not entirely disagreeable, just a surprise. Also, I didn't try to figure out 3/4 of a tablespoon. My math skills are abysmal; I used a level tablespoon. No, I do not think that little extra bit of cocoa is what made the cake dry.

The lemon frosting is very good; it had a bright lemon flavor, and I really liked it. I'm not entirely convinced it should go on a marble cake.

Sweetie-Pi and I both had a small portion of this today, and rated it a "Hmmmmmm." I'm going ahead and making the nine remaining cakes in the "10 Cakes Husbands Like Best" booklet. I'm definitely reducing the heat next time (all the recipes call for 375F) and will adjust the cooking times based on what we know today.

And, if the other cakes turn out well, I may round back and try this one again. I think it has potential.

13 comments:

I love to find and read old recipes; they are so interesting! I haven't had a marbel cake in years. Sorry yours didn't turn out, but it sure looks delicious!I love the idea for using Pom juice in strawberry pie!

I love old cookbooks and magazines. They are so much fun! The ones that different organizations and clubs put together from back in the 50's and 60's all start with Mrs. when they are giving credit to the who submitted the recipes...I always crack up at that!! Regardless, your cake looks great!

Oh, thank you all for stopping by! It's so much fun to hear from you and to hear your thoughts.

I had a chuckle over the book title as well. It's just so old fashioned and charming. I'm pretty sure that a book of the same title today would not be published LOL

One cake down, nine more to go. The one that has Ole Sweetie-Pi 's boxers in a bunch is the prune filled cake with prune frosting LOL!!!! I can't wait to try it!! We'll see what happens in a couple of weeks.

HoneyB, we must have been posting at the same time. Here you are, recovering from surgery, and you take the time to remember my birthday. Thank you so much! My old heart is just filled to overflowing with all the good feelings. Thank you! It means a lot to me.

Anj, it's fun to look at those old books. We had mostly boxed cakes at home, but one of these days I'm going to post my grandmother's cottage pudding. It's a simple, one layer cake, with lemon sauce. I've done so much lemon lately, I thought I'd give it a rest LOL

Finsmom, you are too nice. The cake is pretty, but it was dry as the dickens LOL. The flavor combination was a little different. I guess tastes change over the years. But that was part of the fun, for me, in putting this together.

OOOH Hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday...I am with you LOL lemon frosting ona Marble Cake?? hmmm...bet both were YUMMY, but still, I wonder what that tasted like...Can't wait to see the rest...Today I am making a Strawberry cake ( Paula Deen ) for tomorrow..have a great weekend!!

About Me

I am an old-fashioned girl at heart, loving old recipes, while still embracing the new. I look for simplicity, deliciousness, and frugality, with an occasional splurge. Many memories are made around food. Let's make good memories together!